Add The New York Post on Google The Browns are using their first two preseason games to test out their quarterbacks.
Deshaun Watson is getting the nod on Saturday against the Bears, while Shedeur Sanders will start in preseason Week 2 against the Bills.
Watson’s start this weekend will mark his first game action in nearly two years after he suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in Week 7 of the 2024 season. Months later, in January 2025, Watson underwent surgery after tearing the Achilles again. He did not play at all last season.
His absence left the Browns with a bit of a vacuum under center, and after a trade of veteran Joe Flacco to the Bengals and an injury to Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders stepped in to start seven games down the stretch.
Sanders finished his rookie season with 1,400 passing yards (completing 56.6 percent of his passes), seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders of the Cleveland Browns look to pass during Cleveland Browns Training Camp at CrossCountry Mortgage Campus on July 29, 2026 in Berea, Ohio Getty Images Todd Monken, who took over as head coach this year after the firing of Kevin Stefanski, now has his first big choice to make in Cleveland.
In June, Monken admitted he was not ready to make a call about his QB1, and Watson and Sanders have shared first-team reps at practice. On Saturday, though, Watson got all the No. 1 reps on a day Sanders was expected to take them.
Sanders, on Wednesday, said everyone was informed about the practice decision and said he didn’t appreciate people jumping all over Monken.
“Sometimes, if things happen, y’all just jump on the coach, man, like he just tripping or something, you know?” he said. “I don’t really like that because it creates just extra, and I hope we all here to wanna win, you know, and be a team and be a franchise. So, it’s kinda like, we gotta slow down, you know, if that’s what we want.”
Cleveland Browns head coach Todd Monken gestures during a news conference at the team’s NFL football training camp, Monday, Aug. 10, 2026, in Berea, Ohio. AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki On Monday, Monken had a bit of a heated moment with the media when a reporter asked the bench boss to clarify some earlier comments about where his two quarterbacks stood in the competition.
“Were you saying Deshaun has gotten better since camp or that he’s better than Shedeur?” the reporter asked.
“Oh, I don’t think I threw in there that he’s better than Shedeur,” Monken said. “I’m not sure I went that far but I appreciate you trying to trap me in that s–t.”
The two signal-callers will get their chance to show who is better on the field soon enough.
